INICIAR SESIÓNOlivia's POV“Are you crazy, Dickson?!” someone from the crowd shouted, their voice cracking with panic. “Where the hell did you even get a damn gun?!”The whispers from the onlookers started to rise like a swarm of angry hornets.“I can’t believe his uncle let him have a gun. Or maybe he stole it from the station?” one man muttered, clutching his coat.“This is unbelievable,” a woman replied, her voice hushed. “These kids these days are something else. How can he just pull a gun out like that on that poor girl out in the open?”“Maybe we should call the cops?” a teenager whispered, holding up a phone.“He ‘is’ the cops, you idiot!” an older man hissed back. “Who else would you call when his uncle is the Chief, sitting right on top of this town with his big fat ego? The police won’t touch him.”The people kept going, their commentary fueling the fire in Dickson’s eyes. I just wished they would shut the hell up.Every word was a provocation, pushing an unstable man closer to the edge.
Olivia's POV“Get your filthy hands off me, you disgusting asshole!” Avery screamed, squirming against his grip, her face turning a panicked shade of red. “You’re just an overgrown, pathetic bully!”“Dickson, please!” I begged, reaching out for his arm, my voice cracking. “Please let her go! I’m sorry about what happened at the bar! I’ll give you the money, just don’t hurt her!”He didn't listen. Dickson lifted his free hand and delivered a brutal slap across Avery’s face. The sound was like a whip cracking. He then slammed his large, heavy body against her smaller frame, pinning her to the wall and crushing the air out of her. I watched in horror, my eyes were wide with a terror I couldn't .“Let her go, Dickson! Please!” I screamed, desperate now. “I’ll get the money! I’ll do whatever you want!”Dickson turned his head toward me, his eyes were dark and soulless. He shoved me away with a violent force that sent me sprawling across the icy pavement. My hip hit the ground hard, and I f
Olivia's POV“Hey, bitch. Remember me?”The person who spoke stepped forward into the sickly yellow glow of a flickering streetlamp. He had spiky blue and silver hair that looked ridiculous against his grimy denim vest. I remembered him all too well.Westley.One of Dickson’s most loyal lackeys. Dickson must have sent them to intercept us the moment he was kicked out of the bar.“Let’s not waste our time, ladies,” Westley said, a crooked, mean-spirited grin spreading across his face. He was flanked by three other guys, all dressed in heavy hoodies and baggy cargo pants, looking like pure trouble. “Me and my guys just need you to bring out the cash old Picasso paid you for the shift. Think of it as a local tax for bringing all that heat to our town.”Avery didn't flinch. She folded her arms across her chest and looked them up and down with a look of pure disgust. “Oh, really? A local tax?” she scoffed. “And why the hell would we do that, Westley? If you want some cash, what’s stopping
Olivia's POV“Liv, are you alright?” Avery asked, her gaze darting to me. Her voice softened for a second, but the sharpness remained. “Did these bottom-feeders hurt you?”“I’m just... I’m just cold, Avery,” I shivered, my arms wrapped around my chest. “I’ll be fine once I have my coat back. Please, just tell them to give it back.”Barbra snickered, adjusting the charcoal wool around her waist. “You wish. Finders keepers. It’s mine now.”“No, it really isn’t,” Avery said firmly. She walked forward, the deliberate click of her boots on the pavement sounding like a countdown. She paused to pull her hair back into a tight ponytail, never taking her eyes off Barbra. “I’m pretty sure you three little demons still remember me, right? I’m pretty sure you remember what happened last time you tried to corner someone on my watch.”Avery stepped closer, her tone dropping into a dark, deep sound that made even me flinch. “If you don’t want me refreshing your memories with a trip to the ER... I su
Olivia's POVThe cold was no longer just a sensation; it was a physical weight, pressing against my chest and seeped into my bones. I sat on that weathered wooden bench, my breath hitching in puffs of white vapor that vanished into the dark, misty air of Willow Creek. I wrapped my arms around myself, clutching the charcoal wool coat. It was thick, smelled faintly of his expensive cedarwood cologne, and was currently the only thing keeping me from shattering into ice.I was trying to stay invisible. I was trying to exist in the shadows until Avery returned from the errand Picasso had sent her on. But invisibility was a luxury I no longer possessed.The sound of clicking heels and shrill, familiar laughter cut through the distant thumping bass of the bar. I stiffened, my heart dropping into my stomach. Three figures came out from the neon-tinted fog, gossiping with a venomous energy that I recognized instantly.Penny, Barbra, and Lucy.In a town like Willow Creek, some things never chan
Olivia's POVDickson reached for his glass of beer, his fingers curling around the heavy glass. I gasped, certain he was going to shatter it over the stranger’s head. He swung it with a grunt of rage, but a massive, fat hand intercepted it mid-air.“That’s enough, Dick,” Picasso growled.The bar owner had appeared out of nowhere, ripping the beer out of Dickson’s hand and slamming it back onto the table so hard the liquid splashed over the edges.I looked up, trying to see the face of the man who had saved me, but the hooded stranger disappeared into the crowd as if he had never been there at all. He vanished through the side exit before I could say a word.Dickson narrowed his eyes at me, his chest heaving. He spat on the floor at my feet and stormed out of the bar, kicking a chair over on his way. I stood there, my hand over my racing heart, my breath coming in short, jagged gasps.“Just one day... you’ve been back for one day and you’re already causing a goddamn riot in my establis







